Type-body.



W. NICHOLAS TYPE BODY.- APPLICATION FILED JULY 7; 1914.-

mw wo Patented May 7,1918;

WILLIAM NICHOLAS, OF SOUTI-IPOIRT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO UNITED STATES GRAPHOTYPE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW.

YORK.

TYPE-BODY.

Application filed July 7, 1914. Serial No. 849,526.

To all whom it may concern."

in Type-Bodies, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to printers type and has for an object to produce self-planing type bodies.

A further object of my invention is to produce body type, including both character type and spaces, none of which can rise above the general level of the form in which they are locked.

Among the chief annoyances experienced by printers is that of having the type, and especially the quads and spaces, work up so as to mar the printed sheets, and in the case of character type, having the face mashed down and destroyed.

The form when locked in the chase pre paratory to being placed on the press invariably requires that its'surface be planed, that is, hammered down, which is usually done by means of a mallet and block, the latter being termed a planer, made of suitable material and flat upon the under surface which rests upon the faces of the character type. When one type stands higher than the rest, it will in this manner be driven down to the proper level with probable injury thereto even though great care be observed in the process. It is often found, however, that the type cannot all be thus forced down to the one level, due in many instances to the presence of foreign matter under the type, to remove which requires repeated locking and unlocking of the forms to remove the diiiiculty; or, in case of quads and spaces, because they are shorter than the character type, they must therefore be forced below the plane of the printing surface one at a time, for which purpose the printers usually have at hand a tool known as a bodkin, which is specially designed to push down a single type or a space.

Even after type have been carefully made ready for the printing press, the repeated vibrations under the heavy pressure of the m or cylinder I. .1. u the type Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 't, fut.

forms will sooner or later cause the spaces and quads to rise up and leave their imprint upon the printed sheet.

Hence, it is the purpose of my invention to produce printers type of all body sizes, which, when locked into a form, will automatically arrange themselves in proper order, with the character type on the required level for printing, and hold the spaces at the required distance below, and to retain both type and quads indefinitely in normal relationship.

Type are usually cast with one or more recesses or nicks cut transversely across one side or edge, one over the other when a plurality of nicks are used; The nicks are con cave in form, and in its general features my improved type body utilizes the founders nick having upon the reverse side, corresponding in position and relative arrangement therewith, av rib or bead adapted to enter the nick of another type when placed in immediate contact therewith. The ribbed part need only protrude slightly, and is preferably made rounded, so that when brought into contact with a fiat surface such as a lead or a line of type not having a nick to correspond in position thereto its presence will not appreciably disturb the normal relationship of the lines composing a form of type.

In the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a type body provided with a rib or bead on one side; Fig. :2 is a side view of two of such bodies. as in a form of type; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of type bodies in similar arrangement showing relative position of the bead and nick in contiguous type.

On the side of the type 1 opposite to that having the usual nick 2 ll construct a rib or bead 3 preferably of a semi-circular crosssection. which is, similarly to the construction of the nick disposed transversely the full width of the character and is formed at exactly the same distance from the bottom end of the type body as is the nick, the'concavity of which likewise is of preferably semi-circular form. The half round curvature of the nick both at its upper and lower sides forms for a short distance from the surface of the type to which it relates a substantially perpendicular surface relatively I to the vertical axis of the type, as at 4 in Fig, 3, and hence the corresponding upper or lower sides of the rib 31 when it, is held within the nick 2 as in a locked form, will engage the corresponding perpendicular surface 4 of the nick in the direction in which the rib position moves. Consequently the rib 3 should be constructed to prevent the type from rising uniformly at either the bottom or top surface of the nick 2. In the drawings as in praetice,I have constructed the ribs 3 to. contact, the lower surface of the nicks and to that, extent would consider that as the preferred form of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A font of type having bodies provided with nicks in the sides thereof corresponding with the bottom of the character face thereon, minute ribs projecting from the sides corresponding with the top of the character thereon, and adapted to contact an edge of said nick whereby one of said type will hold the other in a fixed position relatively thereto.

2. A font of type with nicks in one side of the body thereof, minute ribs projecting from the opposite side, and located at a point to contact one or the other edge only of said nicks, substantially in the manner shown.

3. A font of type having bodies: provided with nicks in the side thereof corresponding with the bottom of the character face thereon, ribs projecting slightly from the side similarly corresponding with the top of the characters thereon, said nicks being formed of lar er diameter than the width of said rib, su stantially as shown.

4. A font of type with nicks in one side of the body thereof, minute ribs projecting from the opposite side and located at a point to contact one or the other edge only of said nicks, the hei ht of said ribs being insufiicient to distur the alinement of the ty )e to which it relates when composed in a orm adjacent plain type surfaces.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM NICHOLAS.

Witnesses:

EDITH EN IssoN, JAM S ENNISSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner. of Patents, Washington, D. Q. 

